Well, we're headed to Wyoming!  This weekend Sean was offered two jobs (because he's awesome like that).  We had to make a quick decision on which one we would accept.  Both of them were amazing opportunities, but we ultimately decided on the place that would put us closest to family.  Converse county, here we come!!

God bless Texas

For the past 7 years we've called Texas home.  For the most part, we have really enjoyed living here.  The main problem we have with it, though, is that we are so far from family.  So the time has come to make our way back up north.  

Chances are we will be moving this summer.  There are lots of things that I will miss about Texas.  Not having to scrape ice off of my windshield is probably top of my list.  I'll also miss the humidity - not the middle of the summer, 98 degrees, 95% humidity type days - but the cool winter and spring days, when it is in the 70s or 80s and the humidity makes your skin feel amazingly soft.  I love how people say "no sir" and "yes ma'am."  I love how everyone is so proud of their state.  I'll miss the trees - I love my drive to work, with huge trees on either side of the road.

One tradition that Texans have is bluebonnet pictures.  Bluebonnets are the state flower of Texas and, every spring when they bloom, people go out to open fields and take pictures of their children in the bluebonnets.  For some reason, we've never done it until this year.  Now that I know we will likely be moving, I'm trying to fit in as many "Texas" things as I can.  So, without further ado... our bluebonnet pictures...

Emerson at 15 months

Weight - 22.0 pounds (61%)
Height - 31 inches (65%)
Head - 17.75 inches (33%)

She's trying to talk.  She says "doh" which means "dog" but she will say it to almost any furry creature.  She also says "ni ni" for "night night."  Her favorite "word" at the moment seems to be "gnana gnana," it is her word for "I want that / give it to me / that's mine."

She loves her baby dolls.  Loves putting them "na na" and covering them with blankets.  Loves giving them kisses (she makes the most adorable kissing sound).  Loves bringing them to us to kiss.  Loves carrying them around in her toy car seat.

She recently turned into an expert climber.  A couple weeks ago she climbed onto the bench and then on top of the dog kennel.  She loves to feed the dog.  She tries to feed the cat, but most of the time the can is not interested in what she is offering.  She is also bound and determined to master eating utensils  she gets so excited when she spears something with a fork and is able to get it to her mouth.

Chop!

Adeline has been asking to cut her hair for a few weeks now. I've had a love/hate relationship with their hair recently.  It looks so cute when it is braided, and it is adorable when they wear it down... for the first 10 seconds after it is brushed, after that it is a bit rag-a-muffin looking.  And it always gets so tangled in the middle of the night, so we battle with brushing it every morning.  

Even with all of the challenges of long hair, I was hesitant to let them cut it.  It was SO pretty!!  But they were persistent and kept asking.  They didn't have school on Friday, so we headed down to Great Clips.

 The great thing was, they both had enough hair to donate.  Here they are with their donation ponytails and cute new cuts.

We decided that they should probably donate it to Emerson... but we couldn't figure out how to glue it to her head, so we're going to donate to Wigs for Kids.

Ride 'Em Sheep!

On Addie's birthday we made a trip down to the Houston Rodeo.  Addie and Charlotte were both able to participate in Mutton Bustin'.  Mutton busting is an event held a rodeos similar to bull riding, but for kids. Once the child is seated atop the sheep, the sheep is released and starts to run in an attempt to get the child off, the kid hangs on for dear life and tries to ride as long as they can.

Getting geared up for the ride:

 Before we went to the rodeo we tried to look up technique tips for the girls.  The only two we found were:
            1. Hold on tight.
            2. Keep your mouth closed when you fall.

In the chute:

The rodeo clowns run alongside the sheep so that they can scoop up the kid as soon as they fall.  This made getting good pictures difficult.  Addie's ride:

Charlotte's sheep was jumping.  The rodeo clown was blocking her in all the other pictures.  Charlotte's wipe out:

Walking out after the show was over:

All the kids getting their prize bags:

Both of the girls had fun riding their sheep, but when asked if they would like to do it next year, Charlotte said "No, that's okay."

Rodeo continued...

The rodeo wasn't just mutton bustin', we also at some delicious food and the girls rode some rides.

 Poor Emmy was pooped from all the fun.

Laundry Day!

I don't know why I love pictures of kids in laundry baskets so much, but of all the pictures I have, they are some of my favorites.  Maybe it is because they love playing in them so much.  A couple weeks ago Charlotte and Emmy spent a good 30 minutes playing in this basket.  Charlotte is such a good big sister.  She is so patient with Emmy and is always happy to play with her.

Don't tell me what I like!

This is a journal from Addie's first grade class.  The journal prompt reads "I like lions because..."

Addie's wrote:
"I do not like lions because they eat other animals for food.  They are mean and they are scary.  Lions are carnivores."

Happy Birthday, Emmy!

So this post is very, very late.  On December 28th our sweet baby girl turned one.  It is amazing how fast this year went.  My little baby is turning into a fun toddler.

 She loved us singing to her.

 I was so excited when she tasted the cake.  Neither Addie or Charlotte wanted anything to do with their cake.

 Hmmm, this is pretty tasty...

 The one time in her life when messy face = happy mom.

Emerson at age one:

• Has 7 teeth (4 top, 3 bottom)
• Loves animals and gets super excited when she sees the cats or dog.
• Is a champion eater.  She'll eat just about anything you put in front of her.  Bananas and frozen peas are her favorites.
• Loves to snuggle with blankets.
• Hates having her diaper changed.  She's a girl on the go and has better things to do than lay around for the 10 seconds it takes to change her.

Merry Christmas

Santa pictures make me laugh.

Emerson is generally a very social baby.  While we were dropping off the older girls at school this morning, she walked right up to the security guard with her arms up and was happy as a clam when he picked her up..  She is happy to go to almost anyone who smiles at her.  But Santa is different.

Adeline and Charlotte were so excited to get their picture taken with Santa.  For days it was all they talked about.  As we stood in line they were literally jumping for joy.  Then it was our turn and he asked what they wanted for Christmas.

Charlotte whispered that she wanted a Barbie.  Adeline just looked at her feet.  Emerson started crying as soon as I handed her off.

Weebles Wobble

Emerson is 11 months now.  She's been a pro at walking since a little after she turned 9 months.  Today I put her in this puffy Christmas dress.  It is a bit big for her (18 months), and heavier than the onesies that she normally wears, so she is walking around like a drunk.  We went out shopping today and several people commented about how well she was doing for just learning how to walk.  I didn't tell them it was because I was torturing her for the sake of fashion 

She loves the dogs and cats and squeals every time she sees one of them.  She has two bottom teeth and four top teeth that are barely peaking through.  She just learned how to clap and loves to have everyone cheer and clap for her whenever she shows off her new skill.

And just for fun, here are Adeline and Charlotte at 11 months.  She definitely has Addie's hair, it is going to be a long time before she can wear a bow like Charlotte.

Missing Tape

Sometimes I feel like I have failed at becoming a proper adult because I never seem to have tape in the house.  I buy it.  I use it.  I put it in the desk drawer with the pens and scissors.  And then it disappears.  Never to be seen again.  I don't know what happens to it.  I'm not sure if it gets cannibalized by the other office supplies, or if it is taken by my children.  One way or another, it is usually gone by the 3rd day.  

I suspect that my sweet kiddos are taking it.  This concerns me even more than barbaric tape-eating-scissors because I never see any evidence that they are using the tape.  They are always making art projects and will bring them to me to show off their talents.  Occasionally, the day after the tape goes missing, I will see a piece or two with tape on, but not NEARLY enough to account for the entire roll.  Which leads me to wonder, what exactly are they planning to do with the rest of it?  

While we don't have Scotch tape, we do usually have packing tape so I'll use that instead.  Last night I was wrapping some presents (with packing tape of course) and Charlotte was watching.

Charlotte:  Mom, is that goose tape?

Me:  What?

Charlotte:  Goose tape.  Is that goose tape, mom?

Me:  Oh, do you mean duct tape?

Charlotte:  No, I mean goose tape.

Me:  Well, this is actually called packing tape.  The grey tape is called duct tape.  I don't know what goose tape is.

Charlotte:  Why don't they call it goose tape?

Me:  I'm not sure sweetie.

Duct, duct, goose... tape?